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We have reached the fourth Friday in December. This year also known as Christmas Eve. Or as Kermit once described it in song, the day before the night before Christmas.

I finally seem to be over whatever I was sick with, for what it’s worth. Thursday was my first day of a 12-day Christmas vacation, which means–of course–that things were crazy at work on Wednesday and I worked a few hours later than I would like.

Anyway, it’s time for this week’s Friday Five in which I bring you: one story about simple joy, two stories about the season, the top five stories of the week, five stories of interest to queers and our allies, five stories about deplorables, five stories about the pandemic, and five stories about the Hugo Awards. Plus some notable deaths and a couple of things I wrote.

This Week in Joy:

JOY: Watch This Third-Grade Teacher Make A Hail Mary Shot

This Week in Tis the Season:

Recommended listening: Louis Armstrong’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’

Lowland residents to get Christmas weekend snow, with dangerous cold to follow

Stories of the Week:

Hanukkah isn’t Jewish Christmas. Here’s the story of the holiday

One Year In, Joe Biden Has Confirmed More Lifetime Judges Than Decades Of Presidents

A New Record for Gorey Art at Auction

A dinosaur embryo has been found inside a fossilized egg. Here’s what that means

Astronomers discover largest group of ‘rogue planets’ yet

Stories of Interest to Queers and Our Allies:

Students sued their school for the right to form a Gay-Straight Alliance. They just won

Utah billionaire leaves Mormon church, donates $600,000 to LGBTQ group

Author of ‘Gender Queer,’ one of most-banned books in U.S., addresses controversy

It’s official: Washington Blade gets designated seat in WH briefing room – LGBTQ newspaper secures seat in WH briefing room for first time

Jennifer Coolidge reading the “The Night Before Christmas” is the present you need this year – She is making the Yuletide G-A-Y

This Week in Haters, Deplorable People, and Their Victims:

Thousands of Isreali LGBTQ people sent terrifying texts after dating site hack exposes personal info

Convicted Gay Trump Ally Brandon Straka Cooperating With Authorities

Trump Can Go To Hell. Why Not Jail?

Morning Joe: Mitch McConnell’s latest remarks about Jan. 6 probe shows GOP senators are done with Trump

Michael Flynn’s Request Thrown Out Of Court In ONE Day – The ink barely had time to dry on Flynn’s request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the January 6th Committee from accessing his phone records or demand testimony from him

This Week in the Pandemic:

I Got COVID Three Times – Don’t worry, you (probably) won’t become me. But yes, you can get COVID twice, and even more

Covid-19 was third leading cause of death in 2020, driving record rise in death rate and nearly two-year drop in life expectancy

With omicron, you need a mask that means business

Vaccines, pills and data offer some Christmas cheer in face of Omicron advance

Omicron Is Our Past Pandemic Mistakes on Fast-Forward

This Week in Hugo Awards:

Cora Buhlert: Some Thoughts on the 2021 Hugo Award Winners and the Ceremony in general

Camestros Felapton: Hugo 2021 first reactions

Doris V. Sutherland: 2021 Hugo Awards Celebrate Imagination, Wonder, and an Arms Manufacturer

Nicholas Whyte: 2021 Hugos in detail

Doug Merrill: Hugo 2021 and Me

In Memoriam:

Joan Didion, famed American essayist and novelist, has died

Thomas Kinsella, one of Ireland’s finest poets, has died, aged 93

Things I Wrote:

Murderbot Wins Two Hugos! And other reactions to this year’s results

A ’54 Convertible Too, Light Blue